Can Christie get his mojo back?

Gov has controlled image, limited questions since bridge scandal

Jan. 31, 2014

Governor Chris Christie and the Superbowl Host Committee highlight the NY/NJ Snowflake Youth Foundation and their donation to the Boys and Girls Club in Newark, N.J. on Monday, Jan. 27, 2014. The renovations include a new gym, swimming pool, recreations space, a youth dental clinic and new office space. (Governor's Office/Tim Larsen) / Tim Larsen

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@dracioppi

Through finger-pointing town hall meetings on YouTube and tough-talk speeches on television, Gov. Chris Christie has cultivated a national image similar to that of Richard Sherman, the Seattle Seahawks cornerback who is playing in Sunday’s Super Bowl at MetLife Stadium: loud, arrogant and confrontational.

But these days, with his administration under investigation by the Legislature and the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Christie has acted more like Marshawn Lynch, Sherman’s monastic teammate who makes news simply for not speaking.

Chris Christie could have floated on a cloud across New York and New Jersey this week, soaking up attention from thousands of journalists and hundreds of media outlets to promote New Jersey and burnish his national profile. Instead he has had a much more diminished role in the publicity extravaganza that is the Super Bowl, choosing instead to resurface in conditional interviews, a Shore appearance and an awkward roast of a Super Bowl quarterback.

With the George Washington Bridge scandal in full steam and allegations of political strong-arming by the mayor of Hoboken lingering, Christie has instead chosen the well-tread path of politicians past who’ve been touched by scandal: apologize, then hunker down.

“It would obviously be easier to do the kind of publicity that the governor probably envisioned if the last month didn’t happen,” said Ben Dworkin, director of the Rebovitch Institute for New Jersey Politics at Rider University.

“But because it did, it makes sense that the governor doesn’t want to be promoting the Super Bowl in New Jersey while also answering reporters’ questions about the other issues. So he has to shift his focus a little bit and perhaps not take advantage of every opportunity he would have if this were done two months ago,” Dworkin said.

Christie faced the bridge lane closure controversy on Jan. 9, taking a roomful of reporters’ questions for about two hours. But that was it.

Christie has appeared at several functions around the state, including a superstorm Sandy-related appearance in Stafford, but he has not taken any questions from reporters.

Once a frequent guest on MSNBC’s Morning Joe program, Christie has not been seen on television.

He even canceled his regular monthly spot on NJ 101.5’s “Ask The Governor” show scheduled for Thursday night (rescheduled for 7 p.m. Monday).

That morning, he resurfaced by phoning in to the Angelo Cataldi morning sports talk show on 94.1 WIP-FM in Philadelphia. A condition of the interview, though, was that Cataldi was not to address the governor’s “issues.” Instead they talked about the weather and Christie’s fandom of the Dallas Cowboy and New York Mets.